[v2 Bug] --jinja-render-mode symbolic: IntrospectiveValue propagates into quote(), causing JinjaError (dbt1501) for macros that use adapter calls followed by identifier quoting

[devxor]

Is this a new bug in dbt v2.x compared to the latest version of dbt 1.x?

• I believe this is a new bug in dbt v2.x
• I have searched the existing issues and could not find a duplicate

Current Behavior

When using --jinja-render-mode symbolic (introduced in 2.0.0-preview.209), macros that call warehouse-dependent adapter methods (e.g. adapter.get_columns_in_relation(), adapter.get_relation()) and then pass the result to quote() fail with:

JinjaError (dbt1501): argument 'identifier' to quote() has incompatible type IntrospectiveValue; value is not a string

The IntrospectiveValue hole-punch type is not being propagated transparently through quote() — it raises an error instead of returning another hole.

Expected Behavior

quote() should propagate IntrospectiveValue transparently (returning another hole/IntrospectiveValue), consistent with how symbolic mode handles other tainted values downstream.

Steps To Reproduce

1. Use a macro that calls an adapter method and passes the result to quote(), e.g. dbt_utils.union_relations() or any macro calling adapter.get_columns_in_relation()
2. Run dbt lint --jinja-render-mode symbolic

Relevant log output

Environment

- OS: dbt Studio
- CPU: (x86 or ARM)
- dbt distribution and version: dbt-fusion 2.0.0-preview.209

Which database adapter are you using?

snowflake

Is this a discrepancy vs. dbt 1.x?

• Yes — this works in dbt 1.x but not in dbt v2.x

Additional Context